


Listen (Things I need to say)

by Frenchibi



Series: Iwaizumi Week 2016 [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Confessions, Day 6, Drunk!Iwa, Fluff, Iwaizumi Week 2016, M/M, There's a lot of swearing, prompt: University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7433382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/pseuds/Frenchibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He realizes, at that same moment, that this isn't a new thing at all. He just didn't acknowledge it before, but... Oikawa is, apparently, quite brilliant. And he's been building himself a home in Hajime's heart for years now.<br/>He's hard-pressed to ignore that he does, in fact, have a problem. Well, shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Listen (Things I need to say)

**Author's Note:**

> Iwaizumi Week, Day 6: University | ~~Role model~~ | ~~Teammates~~
> 
> ...wow okay this one is late by like 2 hours in my time zone, I'm sorry  
>  ~~also it's barely proofread and I apologize, I just really wanted to get this done~~

Three and a half months into living together, Hajime realizes that this is harder than he expected.

When he'd agreed to Oikawa's plan, he had thought through several possible scenarios, and reasoned that sharing an apartment with him was the smartest choice.

For starters, Oikawa would not whine about Hajime turning him down, which was a big plus-point. It'd also be cheaper than living alone, and more practical since they could get a place close to their university. They could share the costs for meals, split their bills - all things that they'd already been doing, anyway - overall, it seemed like the right decision. Hajime knew Oikawa could be annoying at times, but he'd reasoned that he knew how to deal with that by now, and that they wouldn't be spending that much time together, anyway.

Well. He knows now that he couldn't have been more wrong. They both go to volleyball practice together in the mornings, and though they don't share many classes, their timetables are similar, so they come home in quick succession on most days, and end up doing their homework together, having dinner together, and - despite Hajime's best efforts to get Oikawa off his back so he can study - Oikawa often talks him into lazy movie nights on the couch.

And this could be a problem.

Not the movie nights, per se, but... the whole situation. Because lately, being with Oikawa is different. Difficult. And not for the usual reasons (his pettiness, his insecurities, his mood swings), but for a new one entirely.

Lately, Hajime has been catching himself staring at the setter for more than what is considered a normal amount of time to be looking at your best friend. Lately, he's been realizing that no matter where he goes or what he does, Oikawa manages to somehow worm his way into his thoughts and actions. He knows that friends influence each other, but he highly doubts that it's to this degree.

He plays it off for a long time as an Oikawa-thing: He's just persistent and annoying and that's how he is, so of _course_ Hajime would constantly worry about him.

But he can't fool anyone for long, least of all himself. Because that's not it. Yeah, Oikawa is still annoying as hell, and loud and omnipresent and insufferable at times - but he's also... kind of funny? No, he's hilarous, actually. And determined, and strong, and reliable. And as much as Hajime hates to admit it, he's caring and thoughtful too, sometimes.

And when it hits him one day that Oikawa is stupidly, unfairly pretty-

He realizes, at that same moment, that this isn't a new thing at all. He just didn't acknowledge it before, but... Oikawa is, apparently, quite brilliant. And he's been building himself a home in Hajime's heart for years now.

He's hard-pressed to ignore that he does, in fact, have a problem. Well, shit.

~~~

Tooru is having a hard time _not_ being a little offended.

Iwaizumi's voice keeps echoing back through his mind, even though it's been almost three hours since he left.

"Quit being so obnoxious, Oikawa. Do your stupid assignment. I'll come back when you stop being an ass."

Tooru pushes his lip forward in a pout, even though he _technically_ knows Iwaizumi is _technically_ not wrong. It still pisses him off to be called obnoxious to his face (and the "ass" thing, of course, but that's practically routine anyway so it doesn't really count as an insult anymore) - he was just trying to tease Iwa-chan a little, because his assignment was _so boring_ -

Well, apparently even Iwaizumi Hajime cracks at some point.

Tooru sighs, spinning his chair around before reluctantly turning back to face the (mostly unwritten) paper on his laptop. Taking literature out of interest had been a dumb decision.

Come to think of it, Tooru seems prone to making dumb decisions lately.

Living with Iwa-chan, for instance.

A lovely idea, in theory. Lots of shared time, cooking together, curling up on their couch to watch movies together - the general domestic vibe of it all was exactly what Tooru wanted, and why he asked Iwa-chan in the first place.

The problem is, of course, that Iwaizumi has no idea about Tooru's unfortunate... predicament.

(...said predicament being the year-long crush he's been nursing for his childhood friend, his best friend, his ace. And it's not exactly that easy to hide if you spend practically all your free time together.)

The idea had been to monopolize Iwa-chan until he had no _choice_ but to look at Tooru and finally SEE - but Tooru hadn't counted on what seeing Iwaizumi every morning, groggy, sleep-deprived and adorably grumpy from yet another assignment and way-too-early morning practices, would do to him. Not to mention the casual way Iwaizumi fits himself into Tooru's everyday routine (not like he had a choice, that just kind of... happened), the way he's always _right there_ but so unreachable at the same time, that make Tooru want to smash his face into a wall in frustration.

Just as he's contemplating (half-seriously) how much damage that would actually cause, his phone chirps.

He glares at it. Who has the _gall_ to text him right now? He's supposed to be studying, concentrating-

The phone chirps again, unperturbed by the death glares Tooru is throwing at it. With a sigh, he gives up and opens up the chat window.

The name that blinks up at him has him stopping in his tracks.

 **From: Iwa-chan** : Hey

 **From: Iwa-chan** : U awake?

Tooru stares at the screen, taken aback.

Iwaizumi was the last person he'd expect to get a text from. He's infuriatingly stubborn about texting in general, and he blatantly ignores most of what Tooru sends him (unless it's urgent or important, but... well. That's not often the case, Tooru has to admit. Or, at least, their definitions of the words "urgent" and "important" seem to differ on most occasions) - and Iwaizumi _never_ texts first unless it's absolutely necessary.

Besides, it's late. And Iwaizumi made it a point earlier that he was leaving so Tooru would get his work done.

An uncomfortable, uneasy weight settles in Tooru's chest. If Iwa-chan's texting this late, something must have happened-

The phone vibrates in his hand, and he looks down at the screen again - and nearly chokes.

 **From: Iwa-chan** : Please be awake

 **From: Iwa-chan** : I gotta tell you smth

Tooru's eyes go wide, and he feels like all the air is leaving the room. He types out an answer with shaky fingers.

 **To: Iwa-chan** : I'm here

There's a handful of tantalizing seconds where nothing happens, and Tooru finds his fingers tightening around the small device glowing in his hands. And then it changes, and Tooru nearly drops his phone.

He's calling.

Tooru feels like his heart might have stopped for a second when the phone starts ringing, and he jumps in his seat, scrambling to accept the call.

"...Iwa-chan?"

There's silence on the other end, and Tooru hears muffled voices. Then Iwaizumi speaks up.

"Hey," he says, "hey, Oikawa-"

And he's slurring-

"Iwa-chan, are you drunk?"

"...what? No, no, I'm fine, listen- listen, 'kawa, I gotta... I gotta tell you something, before... before I convince myself it's a bad idea, before I chicken out again-"

Oh, he's definitely drunk.

Iwaizumi rarely drinks at all, and Tooru's been with him the few times that he has, so he knows the signs. Iwaizumi is a very affectionate drunk, very touchy-feely and emotional - which is also why Tooru doesn't usually let him go out alone. That's a side of his best friend he'd rather keep for himself if he can, for as long as possible.

But where the fuck is he, and _why_ is he drunk? He's not usually the type to-

"...Iwa-chan? What's going on-"

"Listen," Iwaizumi is saying, sounding almost indignant and completely ignoring Tooru. "Listen."

Tooru grips the phone a little tighter.

"I'm listening, Iwa-chan."

"L-listen, okay? You're... y-you're really annoying, you know that? Because I went out to get away from you for a few hours but you just won't leave me alone-"

"What?" Tooru asks, but Iwaizumi ploughs right on, talking over him.

"No matter where I go, there's always something that reminds me of- you just won't let me go, you're fucking everywhere, with your stupid, pretty face and your dumb ideas and I can't p-picture a world where you're not- where you're not with me - and it makes me mad, that you don't know, that you don't see how much I-"

Iwaizumi goes quiet for a moment, and Tooru clutches his phone to his ear, breathless-

"Y-you're always running and fighting and t-trying to be better than everyone else - and you can't see that I'm right there and all I see is you," Iwaizumi says, "you don't know that you're brilliant and adorable and f-fucking amazing and I fucking love you, and all I want- I just want- I want you to b-be mine and to- ...you're so stupid, God, that you haven't noticed even though I'm so obvious and-"

"Iwa-chan," Tooru cuts in again, but Iwaizumi doesn't hear him-

"and I've been waiting a-and hoping and just-"

"Iwa-chan," Tooru says, louder this time, and he seems to get Iwaizumi's attention with it because the latter stops talking. But then, Tooru can hear another voice (Kuroo, he realizes, that little SHIT), asking: "What's he saying?"

"Iwa-chan," Tooru repeats for the third time, trying to make his voice sound as unaffected and certain as possible.

"Y-yeah?"

"I need you to come home. Like, right now."

There's a brief silence, and a little scuffle on the other end, but then Iwaizumi says: "...okay. Okay, I can... I can do that."

"Good. Listen- put Kuroo on the phone, will you? Before you go. He's there, isn't he?"

He hears no response - Iwaizumi is probably nodding, though, because a moment later it's Kuroo's smooth voice on the line.

"Tooru!" he says cheerily.

"Kuroo, what the actual fuck did you do to him?" Tooru all but yells. He's having a hard time thinking straight.

"Relax, To-chan. Your Iwa-chan is fine, we've got it under control. He just needed to get some things off his chest-"

But Kuroo interrupts himself, and Tooru hears more shuffling around, and then Kuroo's muffled call of "hey, where are you going?!"

"I told him to come home," Tooru says, trying to stay calm.

"Oh, well that's just fucking brilliant isn't it? You know he won't listen to anyone if _his Tooru_ is calling him home-"

"Well don't just fucking stand there?! I swear to God, Tetsu, if he gets hurt-"

"Calm your tits, Captain. Bo's on it. But this is Iwa's phone, I'm afraid."

Tooru swallows his groan. "Whatever, just keep it for now. You can give it back to him in class."

"Anything else I can do for you, Cap?" He can practically hear Kuroo's smirk.

"Go to hell," Tooru says, but he's lost his fire. "I don't know why you think you need to get involved with us-"

"Whoa, okay now hold on just one minute," Kuroo interrupts, cutting him off. "First of all - he came to us for help. I don't screw around with people's lives, that ain't my business. But Iwa made it mine when he asked me for advice."

A deep frown is creasing Tooru's forehead. "He went to YOU? Why?"

Kuroo scoffs. "Hell if I know. But from what I heard, you're not making things easy for him."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Well, you heard him, didn't you? Apparently there's a lot of repressed feelings and tension there. Don't tell me you didn't notice - you're all over him all the time, surely you knew he has it bad for you?"

Tooru blinks.

"...what?"

Kuroo huffs out a bitter laugh. "You're worse than I thought. You can't even admit that you've been stringing him along-"

But Tooru is done with this conversation - he doesn't care if it's rude, he pulls the phone away from his ear and ends the call, dropping the device into his lap, and takes a second to just _breathe_.

Iwaizumi - Iwa-chan just confessed to him.

He resists the urge to scream, and his hands start shaking a little.

What does that mean? Is he serious? Or is he making fun of him? How drunk is he, anyway - is he going to remember this? Will he try to explain it away? _What the hell is going on?_

~~~

Much to Tooru's disappointment (and not helping with the unease, like, at all), Iwaizumi is practically asleep by the time Bokuto (bless him) brings him home. In fact, he's half-carrying the ace, a strange mixture of strain and amusement on his face when Tooru opens the door for him.

"Here ya go, one Wing Spiker - will that be cash or credit?"

And he starts giggling, like that's the funniest thing he's ever heard.

Tooru offers to let him stay over, but Bokuto just waves his hand dismissively. "Nah, it's okay, man. I got places to be, people to impress - you know how it is."

Tooru gives him a sympathetic nod, and makes a mental note to text Kuroo to make sure Bokuto made it back okay.

But all thoughts of going back to his room for his phone are instantly erradicated from his mind when Iwaizumi leans heavily against him with a content sigh. Tooru struggles to keep him upright, and he practically drags him over to the couch. That will have to do for today, because he can't carry Iwaizumi all the way to his bedroom when he's being this clingy.

"...Tomorrow," Tooru says, as he pulls one of his alien-print blankets over Iwaizumi's curled up figure, "I'm gonna make you explain."

Iwaizumi just hums softly in his sleep, fingers twisting into the blanket as he pulls it up around himself.

"Tomorrow," he says again, before moving to kill the lights. "Tomorrow, for sure."

~~~

Confronting Iwaizumi is harder than expected - especially since Iwaizumi seems to regret every single one of the decisions that brought him to this exact moment, waking up on the less-than-comfortable couch with Tooru hovering in the doorway, clutching a cup of coffee.

"Ah, Iwa-chan, you're up."

Tooru tries to keep the apprehension out of his voice, but he might as well not have tried at all.

Iwaizumi glares over at him, bringing both hands up to rub at his face.

"...what time is it," he mumbles.

"A little after ten," Tooru tells him. He doesn't have to turn to look at the clock - he's kind of been checking regularly for the last hour as he waited for Iwaizumi to finally wake up.

Iwaizumi gives a little nod - and then he freezes as, evidently, the pain rushes in. He leans back into the cushions with a groan. "...oh my God, what-"

"...you had quite a bit of fun yesterday, apparently," Tooru offers. "...d'you want some coffee?"

The ace just shakes his head, covering his eyes. Tooru walks over to him anyway and puts the cup - his cup - down on the couch table in front of him. "You look like you could use some, though."

Iwaizumi mutters curses under his breath, and Tooru contemplates for a moment before dropping down on the floor across from him, the table between them. 

Iwaizumi looks up, eyeing him through his fingers. Then he reaches forwards, reluctantly taking the half-empty cup and downing the contents in one go.

"...so," Tooru says. He clears his throat. "Yesterday."

Iwaizumi gives him a blank look. "...what happened...?"

"...you went to Kuroo's, apparently. While I was working on my paper." He leaves out the part where Iwaizumi insulted him before leaving - he's pretty sure he remembers that.

Iwaizumi nods faintly. "...right. And that jerk made me drink-"

But then his eyes widen, and he cuts himself off, staring at Tooru. It's dawning on him.

"You called me," Tooru supplies, just to be saying something, to fill the silence.

"Oh, God." Tooru has seen Iwaizumi blush before, but he's never seen him quite so uncomfortable and mortified. Iwaizumi covers his face with his hands. "Oh, please tell me I didn't-"

"...you did, though. And I have... some questions."

Iwaizumi gives him a long look, then he gets to his feet abruptly.

"Okay, I have to g-"

But Tooru is quick to react, jumping up as well and grabbing him by the arm.

"Whoa, no. You're not just walking out of this one."

"Oikawa, seriously, let go-"

"You're gonna listen to everything I have to say or so help me," Tooru cuts in, and he's raising his voice even though he knows it's cruel to Iwaizumi, who flinches at the loud sound, raising a hand to his head. It's probably throbbing like hell.

"Look," Tooru says, quieter this time, "all that stuff you said yesterday - did you- were you serious?"

Iwaizumi runs a hand over his face. "I don't know, Oikawa, I was drunk. Did I sound serious to you?"

Tooru knows it's supposed to be sarcastic, but he doesn't care. "Deadly," he says.

"Well then," Iwaizumi snaps, yanking his arm away, "what do YOU think? That I'd pull an elaborate prank _while intoxicated_ to make you believe I've been in- in love with you practically all my life - and for what? For a couple laughs?"

"No! Well- I don't- I don't know what to think, Iwa-chan! That's why I need you to explain!"

Tooru hates how he's the one getting defensive again, even though he has no reason to. Something about Iwaizumi always seems to rile him up.

"What is there to explain? I think I was pretty clear. You can ignore what I said if it bothers you, you don't have to-"

But no, no, this is all wrong-

"Do you want me to?" Oikawa cuts in, and Iwaizumi looks up so their eyes meet. "You can't just go saying stuff like that and then telling me to ignore it! Iwa-chan, you haven't considered my feelings at all! You're not being fair - you put this here, you started this, so fucking finish it! Were you serious? Or are you just tired of this friendship and looking for an easy way out?!"

"Whoa, okay, SHUT UP," Iwaizumi says, and all guilt and embarrassment he might have been feeling before is completely gone, replaced by a cold rage that Tooru can _feel_. "First of all - I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to fall for a pompous, annoying, obnoxious brat like you! I didn't ask to make things complicated, okay, it just happened, and if it's anyone's fault then it's yours, with your stupid face and your brilliant mind and your fucking ridiculous talent, what was I supposed to-"

But Tooru shuts him up by reaching across the table and grabbing him by the collar, yanking him over so he almost loses his balance and smashing their lips together.

Iwaizumi freezes, and he stays that way even after Tooru releases him.

"...I've wanted to do that for a long time," Tooru says, trying to sound as unaffected as possible while his heart is jumping clean out of his chest.

Iwaizumi's gaze focuses again, and he stares at Tooru in what can only be described as a complete system failure. His eyes go wide as he watches Tooru take a tiny, minute step back.

"...what," he says quietly.

"Don't pretend to be stupid, Iwa-chan."

Iwaizumi just blinks at him.

"You. Just. ...kissed me."

Tooru crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Well, yeah."

"You just fucking kissed me."

Iwaizumi's arms hang limply at his sides, and he looks completely lost, staring at Tooru like he's never seen him before.

"You. You like me."

Tooru raises his eyebrows in a "well duh" sort of expression.

"...but. Why? Why would you-"

Tooru scoffs. "Why? That's not- Iwa-chan, the correct question is _why not_. Your self-awareness really sucks, huh."

Iwaizumi stumbles back a little, knees knocking into the couch. He sinks back down onto it, eyes still wide.

Tooru watches him, unsure whether or not he should say something - but Iwaizumi looks like his brain has shut down. So he moves instead, sitting back down on the floor across from the ace.

The minutes that pass feel like hours, and Tooru's mind wanders. He's not sure if he was moving too fast - what if Iwa-chan hates him now? What if all of this was pointless and for nothing?

He's is just about to give up and leave when Iwaizumi's voice pulls him from his thoughts.

"Tooru."

His head turns back to face Iwaizumi, startled at the use of his first name - and he's met with a pair of lips against his own.

Their second kiss is nothing like the first, and it's mainly because Iwaizumi seems to have woken from his daze. This time he's the one grabbing Tooru's collar, and he uses his grip to keep the setter in place while his other hand cups Tooru's face and tilts it so he can get a better angle. Before Tooru really realizes what's happening, he's opening his mouth and letting their tongues slide together with a moan that he would have been highly embarrassed for in any other scenario. But instead of pulling away to laugh at him, Iwaizumi takes it as encouragement to further deepen the kiss, pulling him in closer across the couch table and weaving his fingers into Tooru's hair.

It's new and all sorts of exciting, and when they break apart for air, Tooru can't help but gasp.

Iwaizumi pulls back just far enough to look at him, to make sure that he's okay, that this is okay. He doesn't ask, but Tooru can see it written all over his face.

"Yes," Tooru whispers in response, and a smile stretches across Iwaizumi's face as he ducks in to claim Tooru's mouth for the third time.

"...fucking unfair," the ace mumbles against his lips, and Tooru manages a breathless chuckle in response.

"You're the one who's unf-"

But Iwaizumi cuts him off, and when he pulls away, there's a smile on his face that Tooru swears he'll imprint into his memory and never, ever forget.

"Shut up and kiss me."

~~~

So, in the end, not much has changed - and at the same time, everything has.

Tooru buys Kuroo a bottle of whiskey as an apology for his rudeness ("Oh!" Kuroo exclaims, practically ripping it from Tooru's hands. "There was no need for you to go THAT far...!"), and as a peace offering, Kuroo invites him and Hajime over for dinner and games with a bunch of their other former-rivals-turned-classmates the following weekend.

When Tooru arrives (a little later than anticipated, after a meeting with his literature professor), Kuroo's apartment is already buzzing with conversation, and it takes him a moment to take it all in.

But, above the din, there's the voice that grounds him.

"Tooru!"

And Tooru turns to see Hajime in Bokuto's large armchair, and he smiles at the sight of him, immediately moving over to stand beside him.

"Hey. Haven't seen you all day," Tooru remarks. Hajime is beaming up at him. "C'mere," he says, grabbing Tooru's arm and pulling him down onto his lap. Tooru squawks a little in surprise, but Hajime just laughs and wraps his arms around him, pulling him against his chest.

"I missed you, To," he says. Tooru can't help it, his eyes widen and he feels warmth spreading through his chest to his cheeks. But then he remembers that this is real, this is a part of his life now. And it's better than he ever could have imagined.

Before, all he might have gotten would have been a "you're late, dumbass," or maybe "what took you so long?" - and maybe Hajime would have tolerated him squeezing into the armchair beside him. Maybe. But this, an open invitation, and with a hug to boot - this is so, so much better.

He hums, leaning closer to Hajime and burying his head in the crook of his neck. "...missed you, too, Iwa-chan," he mumbles, grateful that he can hide his face from the rest of the room.

Hajime squeezes his arm, turning his attention back to the conversation Bokuto is having with Sawamura (and discretely ignoring Kuroo's knowing grin and waggling eyebrows). Tooru allows his eyes to close, listening to the voices of their friends talking and laughing, content and comfortable. He hadn't realized he was so tired.

Hajime tightens his grip a little and adjusts their position, making sure he's comfortable.

"...you can sleep," he tells him quietly. "I've got you."

It's easy, casual, and it tugs at Tooru's heart more than he'd dare to say. Because Hajime isn't humoring him. He _wants_ this. Tooru couldn't fight the smile tearing across his face if he wanted to.

"...wake me when they start doing stupid shit," he mumbles, "that'll make for some good snap stories."

Hajime just laughs.

"You're an idiot."

**Author's Note:**

> ~~shut up Iwa you like his stupid face~~
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ...thinking of expanding this universe too once Iwa Week is over...?  
> (ugh, I know, I shouldn't be taking on too many new projects...)
> 
> Please let me know what you thought! Your comments and kudos mean so much, thank you (again) to everyone who took the time to leave either!  
> Oh, and hmu on tumblr too if you feel like it (@frenchibi)! I love to talk and/or scream about Haikyuu :D


End file.
